Communications service providers are continually challenged to develop new services and applications (e.g., Internet protocol television (IPTV), audio conferencing, video conferencing, content distribution, etc.) to remain competitive and develop new sources of revenue. Customers have also come to expect that these new services and applications will be available to mobile users. However, implementation of these services and applications in a mobile environment can be problematic because of the difficulty of maintaining the quality of service (QoS) levels required for the network traffic components (e.g., voice, video, and data) associated with these new services and applications, particularly when potential users are on the move or using different access technologies. Moreover, in a mobile environment, it is likely that network traffic for these services and applications are transported over multiple networks that belong to different carriers and/or service providers, adding to the overall complexity of the problem.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach that provides for robust and real-time management of network resources and policies to assist in delivering services and applications at predetermined QoS levels.